Yakabi Choki

• Born: 1716/1/19
• Died: 1775/1/18
• Other Names: 向全謨 (Shô Zenmo)
• Japanese: 屋嘉比朝寄 (Yakabi Chouki)

Yakabi Chôki is one of the most prominent figures in the history of Okinawa's uta-sanshin musical tradition. The kunkunshi system of notation (tablature) is said to have been developed by Chôki, or by his teacher Terukina Mongaku (1682-1753), and the earliest surviving example of such notation, a volume containing lyrics and music for 117 songs, is attributed to Chôki. The two most prominent schools of classical uta-sanshin today, Nomura-ryû and Afuso-ryû, both also trace their origins to Chôki.

He was born in Shuri, the royal capital of the Kingdom of Ryûkyû, the fourth son of Tamagusuku anji Chôo. His Chinese-style name was Shô Zenmo. When Chôki was young, his talent for the performing arts was already recognized, and he traveled to Satsuma han to study Noh chanting and performance. After returning from Kagoshima, he served briefly as a government official, achieving the rank of peechin, but was soon forced to retire as he began to go blind.

He began studying uta-sanshin under Terukina Mongaku, and developed his own style, which later came to be called the Tô-ryû (当流) school or style. He, or Mongaku, developed the kunkunshi notation system still used today; this notation, and the Tô-ryû style, served as the foundations out of which the later classical tradition developed, including the Nomura-ryû and Afuso-ryû styles performed today.

References

• "Yakabi Chôki." Asahi Nihon rekishi jinbutsu jiten 朝日日本歴史人物事典. Asahi Shimbun-sha.
• "Yakabi Chôki." Okinawa Compact Encyclopedia 沖縄コンパクト事典. 1 March 2003.